That's a wrap

I have 8 more days of being a teacher. Today I purchased a souvenir. Or a trophy of sorts. I bought an antique brass NYC Public School door knob. 

I first saw this door knob at P.S. 110 on Delancey Street, while at an HIV/AIDS Curriculum workshop. While learning about how to dramatize the antibody/antigen relationship in their auditorium, I slipped out to use the bathroom and saw the knob on the teacher's bathroom door. My initial reaction was to steal it right then and there. But then I remembered that I was in a school and am also an employee of the DOE and its wrong blah blah blah. I think about them often. Then last night, while at Torrisi Italian Specialties, I spotted the knob again. My reaction this time? WTF is it doing here? If a restaurant can have it, I should too. Thank you, ebay.

I feel good about my 8 days left. I'm not freaking out, though sometimes I think I should be and do a double check Wait, are you sure? Yeah, we got this. Yesterday, I told my kids that I'm going to explore another part of the world. They already knew something was up; they had heard the talk around town. We checked it out on the globe and looked up pictures on the internet. Some of them think I've gone completely mad, but that is okay :)

I'm going to install my door knob on the outside of our bedroom door so that when it is open, and I'm laying on my side, drifting off to sleep, I can look at it and remember:
*How much I love the kids I've taught. Especially the ehem, tough cookies, shall we say. Way more than I had ever expected.
*How lucky I've been to have met and taught with my coteacher
*How deeply and systematically fucked the Public School system is, so help us God.